The present invention relates to a sun visor for automotive vehicles. The visor has a flat, generally rectangular, sun-visor body in one corner region of which is incorporated a mounting bracket. The bracket is developed as a plastic injection molding. A mounting borehole extends through the bracket which receives an end region of a sun-visor shaft and a U-shaped leaf spring which radially clamps the end region of the sun-visor shaft. The leaf spring has a pair of arms which are supported in recesses formed in the wall of the mounting borehole.
Conventional sun visor bodies are reinforced in an insert, in the form of a wire frame, which typically extends generally around the peripheral edges of the sun-visor body. The mounting bracket is supported on the wire frame adjacent one corner thereof. The mounting bracket can be fabricated of sheet metal and may be riveted to the wire frame, or else it may comprise a plastic body which is clipped onto the wire frame. It is also possible to form the bracket directly on the wire frame by injection molding.
In conventional sun visor bodies, the unit comprising the wire frame and sun-visor body are surrounded in a cushioning material, foam or the like, for defining the visor body which, in turn, is covered by a foil layer. Cut foam or molded foam can be used as the cushioning material. Cut foam includes pieces cut from webs of plastic foam which are placed on both sides of the reinforcing insert and of the mounting bracket which is held together by the cover foil, having edges which are selaed together.
Molded foam sun visor bodies are formed by placing the reinforcing insert and the mounting bracket in a foaming mold and then foaming plastic material around them. The molded foam sun-visor body is completed with the provision of the cover foil around it.
In producing foam molded sun visor bodies, major problems are encountered in the region of the mounting bracket because it is difficult, due to the foaming pressure, to prevent foam from entering the borehole and the spring receiving recesses of the bracket. Although it is possible to employ adhesive tape, or the like, for covering the openings into the bracket, this is an unsatisfactory long-term solution since the adhesive tape method is time consuming and labor intensive and, in addition, is not particularly dependable.